[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 22998]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  BY REDUCING THE NATIONAL DEBT, AMERICANS WILL BE ABLE TO AFFORD MORE

  (Mr. BALDACCI asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BALDACCI. Mr. Speaker, I am really pleased to be here today to 
commend the President for his economic leadership and bringing about a 
balanced budget back in 1993, and to be able to get our country on a 
fiscally sound footing and to be able to try to begin the process of 
retiring some of our debt.
  A lot of the small businesspeople in Maine that have spoken to me 
have said that what we need to do is reduce the interest rates. We need 
to retire the debt and lessen the interest payments that we are making 
each year on the debt. This year our interest payments are going to 
total $233 billion. By being able to reduce the interest on the debt 
and the interest that we pay, we are going to be able to afford people 
an opportunity to afford a house, afford a car, afford a student loan.
  For example, by reducing by 1 percent a $100,000 loan for a home or 
for a major purchase, that individual will save over $60 a month; and 
over a 30-year mortgage will save close to $24,000. That is going to do 
more to keep our economy healthy and keep our economy growing. That is 
the kind of leadership that we have been getting from the White House 
and we appreciate staying on that track.

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